Crewe town council agree CCTV payment amid 'double taxation' claim

CREWE Town Council has agreed to pay a £30,000 ‘one-off contribution’ for the upkeep of CCTV coverage in the town.

The figure is less than the £50k Cheshire East Council sought for maintenance of the 29 cameras in Crewe.

CEC is seeking contributions towards CCTV coverage from parish and town authorities across the borough, which costs around £700,000 each year to ensure round-the-clock monitoring.

Crewe Town Councillors agreed to the payment after deliberating the issue during a council meeting on Thursday, May 1, but made it clear that the payment would be a one-off.

A spokesman for Crewe Town Council said: “The council regrets that Cheshire East Council has adopted a policy that requires that town and parish councils to make a contribution towards the cost of continuing to provide CCTV services, and regards this policy as a means by which there is a transfer of responsibilities without a transfer of resources.”

Provision for future years would be dependent on Cheshire East Council ‘establishing the basis for a long term partnership agreement that secures service provision over a longer timescale than the one year currently on offer’, the spokesman added.

Councillor Simon Yates said it was ‘good’ that the authority had agreed to support CEC deliver CCTV coverage, but said there were now ‘serious questions’ about ‘double taxation’.

“The people of Crewe were paying Cheshire East to deliver this service; they will now be contributing a further 30k but have seen no commensurate reduction in the levy by Cheshire East.

“Therefore, unfortunately there is a double payment to ensure a reasonable service is maintained which makes a mockery of claims of a council tax freeze.”